About

$10,120

pledged of $9,000 goal

198

backers

International
Tom Hanks Day

The Tom Hanks Day Project is all about empowering you to host
your own THD (Tom Hanks Day) party. Already held annually in Chicago, Toronto,
Cleveland and Kalamazoo (!), it celebrates a legend and supports a great cause. To learn more, please take a few minutes to watch the video!

Since the first Tom Hanks Day party was held in Chicago in 2004,
hundreds of people have reached out to ask how they can host an International
Tom Hanks Day party in their city and town.

If this Kickstarter project is successful, we will give you
access to the tools you need to host your
very own THD! You will be able to
get your friends together to order t-shirts and potentially win some Tom Hanks-signed
swag.

Since its inception, we have been featured in many media outlets
including CNN, Time, The Chicago Sun- TimesandTMZas well as Chicago's
WBEZ and B96 radio. In addition, Tom is a supporter of our gatherings and has
recognized us during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live and
via his twitter account.

What's Kickstarter's Role?

What we are looking to do now is expand and take International Tom
Hanks Day to the next level. We want to develop a global website where
consumers can purchase official THD merchandise… where party hosts can buy
merchandise for their parties… and where everyone (consumers and media alike) can
stay updated on the latest THD news and gatherings.

We want to empower anyone and everyone to be able to
throw an International Tom Hanks Day gathering. The website will also allow you to:

Start a local chapter.

Invite your
friends, family (and strangers!) to join
your chapter.

Keep track of how
many people are going to come to your hosted Tom Hanks Day party.

Communicate with
your guests and facilitate the ordering of THD merchandise.

As chapters grow, our team will reach out and help you in
support. We'll offer tips to promote
your local event through public relations, social media, the THD website and more.

We've had much interest from other cities. By helping us to
develop and create a centralized THD website, it will be a one-stop global
source for promotions, for chapters to network, and for other "group efficiency"
benefits that include ordering Tom Hanks Day merchandise.

What if I don't want to host a party?

Ok...you're right. Not everyone is going to want to host a party. Those of you that just want your own Sweet A** THD t-shirt can also purchase them right off our site (www.thetomhanksday.com). We will be creating royalty free designs that will finally be for sale in our store.

Once the website is complete we will go back to our fundraising initiative that supports Lifeline Energy and their Lifeplayers.

The Lifeplayer MP3, financed mainly by Tom Hanks, offers on-demand education access to vulnerable populations. The first of its kind, the solar and wind-up Lifeplayer can play 128 GB of content and is a 5-band radio designed for groups listening. The Lifeplayer is providing education access in several African countries.
The solar and wind-up Prime radio with FM, AM and three SW bands, is being used in radio distance education programs and for womens' listening groups in Africa. Tom Hanks, who understand the importance of radio, also helped to finance the Prime.

Risks and challenges

We have a lot of work ahead of us when we complete our fundraising goals. We already have in place the technology needed to design and build out the consumer facing platform. The real struggle will be in logistics and keeping everyone who wants to host their own THD fully informed and organized. We want people who will be dedicated to hosting multiple years and continue to grow the presence in their market.

We are also going to be against some time restrictions. The website needs to up and running (bug-free!) ASAP in order to ensure everyone has enough time to create their chapter, and properly plan their very own Tom Hanks Day.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

"BIG" Donation: Receive the official "T.Hanks for Tom Hanks Day" t-shirt in your size. Along with a "drink" koozie that will make you the envy of all your friends and the all important bumper sticker.-- ONE LUCKY PERSON IN THIS CATEGORY WILL BE SELECTED AT RANDOM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED TOM HANKS DVD.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

"Castaway" donation: You won't need Wilson anymore when you can listen to your favorite artist anytime-anywhere, through Lifeline Energy’s solar and wind-up Prime Lifeplayer radio that Tom Hanks helped finance. This player will come fully loaded with some of the amazing content that Lifeline Energy provides to those in need all across Africa. We will also throw in a "T.Hanks for Tom Hanks Day" t-shirt in your size so you can look cool while learning.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

"A League of Their Own" Donation: Everything from our other donation levels and we will send you a shirt from each of the previous THD's (10 shirts). We will also throw in a winter hat for year long support and special designation on the THD site.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

"Green Mile" donation: You'll get this one-of-a-kind solar and wind-up MP3 and prime radio that Tom Hanks also helped finance to bring education to 'last mile' learners. This MP3 player will come fully loaded with some of the amazing content that Lifeline Energy provides to those in need all across Africa. We will also throw in a "T.Hanks for Tom Hanks Day" t-shirt in your size so you can look cool while learning.